Morgan Joanne M, Lovell G P, Tulloch K
School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia.
School of Psychology, University of Worcester, Worcester, United Kingdom.
Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Dec 4;6:1448923. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1448923. eCollection 2024.
Women are underrepresented in volunteer non-player roles in community sporting clubs, particularly in traditionally male sports such as football (soccer), where participation rates for men and boys remain higher than women and girls. Experiences of women volunteering in community sporting clubs are not well-represented in research literature. By exploring women's experiences volunteering in community Australian Football clubs, the present research aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators of women's participation in volunteer non-player community sport club roles. Our intention is that our findings will provide empirical basis for the design of efficacious evidence-based interventions and initiatives to help close the gender gap of volunteerism rates and experiences, thus facilitating equal opportunities for women to access associated individual social, physical, and mental health benefits of sports volunteering.
We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with six women from four Australian Football clubs, to determine barriers and facilitators to volunteering.
Reflexive thematic analysis of barriers generated six themes: high expectations of self, intersectionality (of gender with motherhood or race), constrained resources, interpersonal disconnection, lack of organisational support and structure, and gender role assumptions and stereotypes. Analysis of facilitators produced six themes: having or building confidence, positive reinforcement, social connection, deliberate efforts to engage women, role autonomy and shaping, and supportive culture within a club or governing body.
Findings revealed that impacts on women's development in non-player roles exist at the individual level, including the interaction of gender, race, and parental status, but also extend beyond this to personal, interpersonal, organisational, and sociocultural factors. Given our research findings we make seven recommendations for governing bodies and community football clubs to enhance volunteering gender equity: 1. Establish support for women by dividing work evenly among volunteers; 2. Provide clear descriptions of non-player roles; 3. Match the skill sets of new women volunteers to suitable roles; 4. Implement mentorship programs to aid collaboration among women who volunteer; 5. Educate communities about gender biases and assumptions; 6. Monitor and seek feedback on gendered task allocation to ensure women's unpaid labour is not disproportionate to men's; and 7. Promote and publicise women in non-player roles to enhance women's visibility and acceptance in community football clubs.
在社区体育俱乐部中，女性在志愿者非运动员角色中的占比不足，尤其是在足球（英式足球）等传统男性主导的运动项目中，男性和男孩的参与率仍然高于女性和女孩。社区体育俱乐部中女性志愿者的经历在研究文献中并未得到充分体现。通过探索澳大利亚社区足球俱乐部中女性志愿者的经历，本研究旨在了解女性参与志愿者非运动员社区体育俱乐部角色的障碍和促进因素。我们的目的是，我们的研究结果将为设计有效的循证干预措施和倡议提供实证依据，以帮助缩小志愿服务率和经历方面的性别差距，从而为女性提供平等机会，使其能够获得体育志愿服务带来的相关个人社会、身体和心理健康益处。
我们对来自四个澳大利亚足球俱乐部的六名女性进行了个人半结构化访谈，以确定志愿服务的障碍和促进因素。
对障碍的反思性主题分析产生了六个主题：对自己的高期望、（性别与母亲身份或种族的）交叉性、资源受限、人际脱节、缺乏组织支持和结构，以及性别角色假设和刻板印象。对促进因素的分析产生了六个主题：拥有或建立信心、积极强化、社会联系、刻意努力让女性参与、角色自主性和塑造，以及俱乐部或管理机构内部的支持性文化。
研究结果表明，对女性在非运动员角色中发展的影响存在于个人层面，包括性别、种族和父母身份的相互作用，但也延伸到个人、人际、组织和社会文化因素。基于我们的研究结果，我们向管理机构和社区足球俱乐部提出七项建议，以提高志愿服务的性别平等：1. 通过在志愿者之间平均分配工作来建立对女性的支持；2. 明确非运动员角色的描述；3. 将新女性志愿者的技能与合适的角色相匹配；4. 实施指导计划，以帮助志愿女性之间的合作；5. 对社区进行性别偏见和假设方面的教育；6. 监测并寻求关于性别任务分配的反馈，以确保女性的无偿劳动与男性不成比例；7. 宣传和推广担任非运动员角色的女性，以提高女性在社区足球俱乐部中的可见度和认可度。
